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The Phoenix Affirmations

A N EW V ISION for the F UTURE of C HRISTIANITY ]

E RIC E LNES ffirs.qxd 2/23/06 7:56 PM Page ii ffirs.qxd 2/23/06 7:56 PM Page i

The Phoenix Affirmations ffirs.qxd 2/23/06 7:56 PM Page ii ffirs.qxd 2/23/06 7:56 PM Page iii

The Phoenix Affirmations

A N EW V ISION for the F UTURE of C HRISTIANITY ]

E RIC E LNES ffirs.qxd 2/23/06 7:56 PM Page iv

Copyright © 2006 by Eric Elnes. All rights reserved. Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741 www.josseybass.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit- ted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8600, fax 978-750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, e-mail: [email protected]. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version , copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked “The Message” are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002. Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elnes, Eric. The phoenix affirmations : a new vision for the future of / Eric Elnes.— 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8578-3 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 0-7879-8578-3 (pbk.) 1. Christianity—Forecasting. I. Title. BR121.3.E46 2006 269—dc22 2005037205 Printed in the United States of America FIRST EDITION PB Printing 10987654321 ftoc.qxd 2/23/06 7:57 PM Page v

6 CONTENTS

The Author ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Affirmation 1 1 Walking fully in the Path of without denying the legitimacy of other paths that God may provide for humanity

Affirmation 2 13 Listening for God’s Word, which comes through daily prayer and , studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and attending to God’s present activity in the world

Affirmation 3 29 Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its ecosystems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human

Affirmation 4 39 Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural

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Affirmation 5 51 Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations made in God’s very image, regardless of race, , sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class

Affirmation 6 65 Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others

Affirmation 7 79 Preserving religious freedom and the church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of church and state

Affirmation 8 89 Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who con- sider us their enemies

Affirmation 9 99 Basing our lives on the faith that in Christ all things are made new and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination—for eternity

Affirmation 10 111 Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts and recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth

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Affirmation 11 125 Caring for our bodies and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship, and recreation in addition to work

Affirmation 12 135 Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose, a vocation and ministry that serve to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love

Notes 145

CrossWalk America 151

The Phoenix Affirmations 152

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This book is dedicated to

God

The spiritually homeless of the world who yearn for the face of Christianity to resemble more closely the face of Jesus.

The many who volunteer time and talent to CrossWalk America—an organization tirelessly and joyfully working to create a home for the spiritually homeless.

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6THE AUTHOR

Eric Elnes is a biblical scholar with a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is also senior pastor of Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ in Scottsdale, Ari- zona (www.artinworship.com), known internationally for its innovative, multisensory worship experience called The Stu- dio. Dr. Elnes serves as co-president of CrossWalk America (www.CrossWalkAmerica.org), an organization committed to re- sourcing, strengthening, and celebrating the emerging progres- sive Christian faith. He also serves on the faculty of the Center for Arts, Religion and Education, in Berkeley, California. Dr. Elnes authored the original version of the Phoenix Affirmations and served as lead editor of its subsequent revi- sions. He is also the author of Igniting Worship: The Seven Deadly Sins (Abingdon, 2004) and is the original developer of “The World’s Most Dangerous Bible Study”—an approach to studying Scripture in conversation with popular music and film used around the world and published in numerous issues of Princeton Theological Seminary’s audio journal, Cloud of Wit- nesses.

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6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is the product not only of scholarly research and pas- toral reflection but of many public and private conversations for which I am most grateful. Many of these conversations have been with members and friends of Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ in Scottsdale, Arizona—a congrega- tion I have served as senior pastor for ten years. I have especially benefited from conversations with Associate Pastor Rev. Katharine Harts, and with those who have attended Worship Team meetings, Bible study groups, and our Theology on Tap sessions. Over the course of a year, our conversations regarding the Phoenix Affirmations—which frequently lasted for hours— brought us several steps closer to the core of our passion and faith, and closer to each other as well. Other lively and helpful conversations have been held while planning a walk across America to raise awareness of the Phoenix Affirmations with CrossWalk America (http://www. CrossWalkAmerica.org). CrossWalk America is a unique, non- profit organization at the center of the emerging movement within Christianity. I am especially indebted to conversations with copresident, Rebecca Glenn, as well as board members Ray Steiner, Scott Logan, Brad Wishon, Brenda Stiers, Mac Schafer, Fletch Wideman, and Tom Jelinek. Still other conversations contributing directly to this book were held with the clergy of No Longer Silent: Clergy for

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Justice, in Phoenix, Arizona, who served as the initial incubator group for the Phoenix Affirmations. Their passion for justice, tolerance, and equality for all people has been an inspiration for many years. Also important have been the clergy and scholars associated with the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey—particularly those with the Western Regional Pas- tor-Theologian program who helped greatly in bringing the Phoenix Affirmations into their present form. Finally, conversations with my wife, Melanie, and daugh- ters, Arianna and Maren, as well as my good friend and mentor Bruce Van Blair, have contributed significantly to this work. I love you more than words can say. And with respect to the words I can say, they are all said much better thanks to the extra- ordinary insights of my editor at Jossey-Bass, Sheryl Fullerton. It should be obvious that “my” thoughts and insights—at least the good ones—are actually connected to a vast web of rela- tionships. These relationships have been, and still are, united by a single purpose and passion: changing the face of Christianity as we know it to more closely resemble that of Jesus. —E.E.

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6 INTRODUCTION

“I’m tired of being a Christian butt,” Jenny exclaimed with obvi- ous exasperation. I thought this was rather unusual language coming from a high school choral director and member of my congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s not her choice of words but the senti- ment that surprised me. In the past few years, I have only seen Jenny get more excited about her faith, not less. When Jenny first cautiously started coming to my church, she had not actively participated in a church for over twenty years. She considered herself “spiritual but not religious.” “I have a problem with organized religion,” she had told the friend who originally invited her. “Not to worry,” her friend said. “My church is more like dis- organized religion. We’ve got kids running around all over the place; visual artists, dancers, jazz and classical musicians weav- ing in and out of worship, and it seems like we’ve got small groups exploring every subject you can imagine, from hiking to social justice to independent films. My favorite is a Bible study that meets in a brew pub.” This last one intrigued Jenny. Instead of showing up at church the next Sunday as her friend suggested, she joined us at the brew pub. Jenny will tell you that the kind of faith she en- countered from participants at the brew pub marked the begin- ning of her personal “Great Awakening” about Christianity.

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Since that day, she has been like the Energizer Bunny of spiritual exploration and discipleship. She has rarely been immersed in less than three or four small groups. She has helped with our teen mentoring program and assisted in our outreach to homeless families. Jenny almost never misses a Sunday worship experience and sometimes helps lead it. So you can imagine my surprise when Jenny used Christian as a modifier for butt. “What do you mean by that?” I asked. “I mean,” she replied without hesitation, “I’m tired of hav- ing always to qualify the word Christian when I tell people I’m going to church. I might as well say I’m radioactive. They get a surprised look on their face and say, “Not you, Jenny. You don’t seem like the Christian type.” So I find myself throwing in more and more buts all the time: ‘I’m a Christian, but . . . but . . . but . . .’” “Oh, I get it,” I responded. “I thought you meant ‘Christian butt’—b-u-t-t.” She went right on, “Why should I have to explain to people, ‘I’m a Christian, but I don’t think homosexuals are evil. . . . I’m a Christian, but I believe women are equal to men . . . but I’m concerned about poverty . . . but I care about the earth . . . but I don’t think people who believe differently from me will fry in hell for eternity . . .’?” Why is it that the word Christian, which should stand for people of extravagant grace and generosity, who are abundantly loving, who are associated with acts of courage, justice, and compassion, has become synonymous with butthead?

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Consider the kinds of voices that have claimed to speak for Christianity in the media in the past few years. In the following three examples, can you identify the speaker? Example 1: The dust had hardly settled after the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, when news of a gay chaplain who died heroically while attend- ing to the wounded and of a gay man who had led an attempt to overthrow the terrorists on Flight 93, was drowned out by this proclamation: “I really believe that the pagans, and the abor- tionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle . . . I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’” Who is this leader? Hint: For many years, he was the head of the so- called Moral Majority and has also said, “The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi Party is to Jews.” Example 2: The Washington Post reported this statement from a prominent Christian leader: “[The] feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti- family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” This same leader is no less charitable toward fellow Christians who are not of his exact fold, exclaiming, “You say you’re supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don’t have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist.” Who said these things? Hint: This leader has also advocated that the U.S. government assassinate the democratically elected president of Venezuela.

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